The Medieval Church in Caransebes and the Observance of the “Historical Truth” in the Documents of the Department of State Security of Romania

Abstract

The research hereafter intends to establish how complex the Department of State Security (also known as Securitatea (DSS) was involved with the archaeological research in Romania during the eighties; this topic has been rather absent within recent historiographic studies. Having made this statement, it should be considered that some approaches have tackled the interferences of the official ideology in the interpretation of the archaeological data. The orthodoxy of some archaeologists can be justified by the continuous pressure from the DSS, or because of their status as collaborators of this institution of repression. The archaeological research from Caransebeș provides a relevant tool for understanding the mechanisms used by DSS to intervene in the middle of scientific debates, as a neutral judge; on the other hand, a series of documents from Arhiva Consiliului Național pentru Studierea Arhivelor Securității (ACNSAS) reveals further details that had been somewhat predicted by those archaeologists living within the respective period. The outcome of our research nevertheless overcomes all predictions the contemporary historians. The actual controversy regarding chronological and confessional ascriptions of Caransebeș disclosures was brutally altered by DSS, following its empirical principles of so-called historical truth. Those archaeologists refusing to obey and follow the principles established by DSS and of the official ideological framework had to face certain repercussions, from interdiction to proceed further archaeological prospecting to secret police surveillance, refusals to travel abroad, and close censorship for every study intended to be published in international magazines and other publications.